Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to material release and more particularly to techniques for material release.
State of Technology
Chemically amplified photoresists have been previously used to selectively alter the solubility properties and chemical makeup of polymeric materials with high spacial resolution in the photoresist industry. This technology uses a light or heat activated acid or base catalyst impregnated in a polymer matrix. Upon activation by light or heat, this catalyst induces a chemical change in the polymer surrounding it, resulting in increased solubility in the surrounding environment, polymer degradation, etc.
In oil and gas wells, a tracer agent such as fluorescein is injected into wells to monitor material flow below the surface. While appearance of this tracer in other wells may give indications regarding flow direction, it does not yield any valuable thermal information regarding the environments below. It would be useful to encapsulate the tracer agent in a thermally responsive shell, which would serve to indicate the temperatures present in the relevant well spaces.